Articles written by Anne Wakelyn

What is Helium

About me - Anne Wakelyn

Hi ! My name is Anne. I have four children who in turn have fourteen children between them. To escape some of the pressure attached to this I ran off to teach English abroad last year. I had a ball.
Now I am returned refreshed to the bosom of my family and

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Creative Writing > Memoirs Testimonies: How a cat changed our lives: 6 of 33
Zerbil, our enormous ginger cat, came to us when my daughter married a man with a terrible allergy to cats. Zerbil settled in happily. He was scrupulously polite but rather pushy; an obvious "A" type. He was in charge and knew how to put this across. He obviously assumed he was our equal. My husband and I soon became used to ... More..
Creative Writing > Short Stories Short stories: The garden gate: 5 of 23
Ella's Garden Mrs. Ella Lacey had a perennial garden. In spring she weeded and seeded, pruned and lovingly tended it. In summer she watered and watched and occasionally sat in a comfortable wicker chair with a cooling drink and rested and enjoyed it. In the fall she pruned again, different things this time, and mulched and f... More..
Creative Writing > Novel Excerpts Novel excerpts: Separation: 2 of 8
Ahoy Daddy! Dawn was just breaking on a cool October morning as Anthea walked briskly down the hill pulling her wheeled suitcase behind her. She was on her way to the Guelph Farmers' Market. In her suitcase she carried a hundred beautiful shawls to sell all made from fine Kashmir wool, some blended with silk. Her brother ha... More..
Creative Writing > Short Stories Short stories: Royalty: 2 of 5
I used to live in a small seaside town on the south east coast of England. I lived in the corner house of a row of tall Victorian three storey town homes, and being the last house in the row, my front door was around the corner facing a main road. It was larger and grander and often knocked upon by strangers who had lost thei... More..
Arts & Humanities > British Literature The universal appeal of Harry Potter: 18 of 37
The Harry Potter novels transcend both time and age because they speak to a basic need in all of us. As long as the subject matter appeals, in this case, fantasy, we will read them again and again because they deal with the human dilemma. All well known classical writers have this in common, that they can lay before us with g... More..
Education > Educational Philosophy Is it better for schools to be rigorous or nurturing?: 18 of 31
We all need nurturing. We all need love, and it must begin as soon as possible after we are born and continue until we are seven and hopefully from then on out for the rest of our lives. Obviously this is not going to happen in an imperfect world, but we should at least have an aim. A nurtured being will be able to learn.Un-n... More..
Travel > Europe Travel experiences: Tuscany: 3 of 5
A Travel AdventureOne day I was idly surfing the net. I was feeling restless and looking for something or somewhere exciting to do or to go. I found myself on Dave's Internet Cafe scanning for jobs for English teachers abroad. I soon found out that in most cases the requirement was for teachers aged thirty five or younger. I ... More..
Home & Garden > Buying & Selling Homes Home buying: Whether to buy or to build: 7 of 10
I have always loved old houses and have nearly always lived in one. The repair work in an old house is ongoing but often worth it,especially if the restoration fits the age and style of house. However, lately I have been toying with the idea of a brand new ecologically sensitive home especially as I am becoming thoroughly tir... More..
Education > Learning Styles & Skills How to use poetry as an aid to pronunciation: 8 of 10
I teach esl (English as a second language). One of my favourite things is not to change people's delightful accents, but to help them learn the melody of English. Every language has its own melody and there is no better way to demonstrate it than through Rhyme. English is a "stress timed" language and this means we only stres... More..
Health & Fitness > Aging & Longevity How to combat signs of aging: 8 of 9
Panic set in when I turned sixty. I lived in a body that was letting me down. I could no longer leap and climb with ease. I was stiff and achy, I even creaked at times. My short term memory was shot. I thought I still looked the same in the mirror, but photographs of recently bygone holidays showed me I was mistaken. It didn'... More..